If so much oil spilled, why was the impact not worse?
To a large extent, the Gulf – and BP – got lucky. For a start, the spill was 40 miles offshore and deep below the surface, away from the richest areas of aquatic life.
The oil that leaked was a light crude that degrades and dissolves more quickly than the heavy oil that, for example, washed ashore in Alaska after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. And once the oil did reach the surface, much of it was degraded by the bacteria that already thrive on the millions of gallons of oil that seeps naturally from the Gulf’s ocean floor each year.
For the oil that did make it ashore, there was also a huge, expensive and largely successful clean-up operation conducted by BP.
The environmental damage was deep, as of course was the impact on those whose livelihoods depended on the Gulf, but the recovery has also been striking. The Gulf, as everyone says, has indeed proved itself to be a resilient place.